Thread cleaner



July 7, 1931, w. 'r. MuNsoN THREAD CLEANER Filed Nov. 14, 1930 FIE.l.

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FIEJL- gwvenl oz W- T. M u N s u N Patented July 7, 1931 o rso sr PATENT OFFECE WILLARD T. MUN SON, OF SCRANTCN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO COLLINS SUPPLY & EQUIPMENT COMPANY, A PARTNERSHIP CONSESTING OE EENRY E. COLLINS AND ALBERT B. COLLINS THREAD CLEANER Application filed November 14, 1930; Serial No. 485,730.

The present invention relates to thread cleaners adapted particularly for use upon spinning and other similar machines, and has for an object to provide a thread cleaner 6 which may be quickly and easily adjusted to provide thread slots of desired width and without the necessity of separating or adjusting the positions of the blades and other parts of the cleaner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaner with a pair of blades and V to provide a combined separating and gauge bar for co-operation with the blades to hold the same at different distances apart to provide a slot of the desired width and to provide co-operating means for determining the adjustment of the blades to show the size of the slot.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cleaner with a pair of spaced apart blades and with a combined gauge and spacing bar constructed of diiferent cross-sectional thicknesses so that by turning over of the bar into different angular positions he- 2 tween the blades the latter may be spaced apart to different distances and thus provide a slot between the blades of the desired Width.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a thread cleaner embodying the above characteristics and which is of a simple construction comp-rising few parts which may be quickly and easily assembled and adjusted Without removal of the blades from the holder.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention will be more fully dey scribed hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended 4 0 heretO.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views: 1

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a thread cleaner constructed according to the present invention. j

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same. Figure 3 is a transverse section through the thread cleaner taken substantially on the line 0 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 1 is a similar view but taken on the line il of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the combined spacing and gauge bar employedin relative separated position with respect to the blades, the latter shown in plan and separated posi tion.

Referring to the drawings, the holder of the cleaner comprises an attaching or base plate 10 which is provided at opposite ends with laterally extending thread 7 guides 11 arranged in register and adapted to guide a thread 12 which passes through the cleaner. The plate 10 is provided intermediate its ends with a transversely disposed socket 13 which is of suitable depth and which opens at its inner end through the back of the plate 10 and which opens outwardly through the socket toward the line of the thread 12.

The inner end of the socket is closed by a pair of stop bars 1a or the like which are adapted to form stops for a pair of blades 15 which at their inner or shank ends are adapted to fit in the socket l3 and bear against the bars 14. The shanks or blades- 15 are provided with rear flat edges disposed at right angles to the axes of the blades and are thus adapted to engage-in flat relation across the bars 14 and with'the opposite edges of the blade shanks in parallel relation to the inner walls of'the socket 13.

The shanks of the blades 15 are provided at their inner opposite edges with recesses or cut away portions providing a socket 16 with parallel opposed walls and with stop shoulders 17 at the forward ends of the Walls. The socket 16 between the shanks of the blades is adapted to open through the rear side of theplate 10 and socket 13 for the-introduction into the socket 16 of a combined spacing and gauge bar 18. The bar 18 may be of any desired length but preferably is of a'length equal twice thatrof the socket- 16 and the bar'lS may be provided with an indicating groove 19 arranged inter mediate its opposite ends and which may extend around all sidesof the bar 18 to serve not only as agauge for determining the correct position of the bar 18 whenit is inserted in the socket 16, but to also facilitate the working down of the opposite lateral faces of the bar 18 to different degrees at opposite ends of the bar so that the width of the bar at one end may be different from the width of the bar at its other end.

The bar 18 is preferably non-circular in cross section for the purpose of providing difierent widths of the bar at different angular cross-sectional positions thereof with relation to the socket 16 and the shanks of the blades 15. For this purpose the present illustration shows the bar 18 as being rectangular in cross-section and with the opposed flat faces being spaced apart a different distance than the opposed fiat faces of the intermediate opposed flat faces so that by turning the bar 18 on its axis through an angle of 90 degrees the elfective thickness of the bar is changed so that the blades 15 may be held apart a different distance.

The lateral faces of the bar 18 are disposed in parallel relation to the axis of the bar and are adapted to engage the inner opposed parallel faces of the socket 16 so as to hold the blades 15 with their axes in true parallel relation.

The forward ends of the blades 15 are beveled at at 20 for the purpose of receiving and guiding the thread 12 into the slot provided between the blades 15 and shown at 21. The slot 21 extends from the inner ends of the beveled edges or faces 20 backwardly to the shoulders 17 and the walls of the slot 21 are in parallel relation so that the thread 12 may have a certain range of play during its passage through the cleaner and between the guides 11.

The socket 13 is of slightly greater interior width than the combined widths of the blades 15 so as not only to accommodate the extra width of the bar 18 to provide the slot 21, but to also admit of a certain loose play in the socket 16 between the blades for the removal and introduction of the end of the spacing bar 1.8. After the bar 18' has been turned to the desired angle and inserted in the slot 16, means is provided for clamping the blades 15 together and against the opposite sides of the bar 18. This means embodies a set screw 22 which is threaded through one end of the socket 13 and adapted to bear at its inner end against the outer edge of the adjacent aw 15' so as to crowd the'jaws and the bar 18 toward the opposite side of the socket 13. I

From Figure 4 it will be noted that the side of the socket 13 remote from the set screw 22 is enlarged or of greater thickness so that when the jaws 15 are crowded together or clamped in the socket, the jaws will be properly centered with respect to the socket and to the guides 11. The set screw 22 may be of any desired construction and is shown in the present instance as having a socket or cavity 23 in its outer side adapted to receive a suitable key or tool for turning the set screw when it is desired to release and clamp the blades in the socket. It will also be noted that the set screw 22 is relatively short so that in all adjustments it may lie within the outer face of the socket 13 so as to obviate any projections or unevenness in the socket structure.

To identify or indicate the relative widths of the slots 21 incident to the various adjustments of the bar 18, the bar 18 is provided at its end and on the opposite faces thereof with numbers or other suitable indices 24 and the socket 13 is provided intermediately with a notch or groove 25 at its forward edge, the groove 25 bein of sufficient depth, as shown in Figure 8, to exposethe index 24 therethrough so that the operator by reading the index 2 1 may determine the size of the slot 21 between the blades 25. Thus, the slot 21 may be accurately gauged.

In the use and adjustment of this thread cleaner, the set screw 22' is turned back by a key or other suitable tool to release the blades 15 and the bar 18. Thebar 18 is now. withdrawn from the socket 16 through the back of the holder or blade 10' and the bar is turned angularly with respect to its longitudinal axis, and may also be turned to present its opposite end to the slot 16, de-

pending upon the' size of the thread slot 21 desired.

l/Vhen' the bar 18' is adjusted and inserted in the slot 16, the set screw is now turned up' against the adjacent blade shank so as to crowd thebla'des and the bar together at the central portion of the socket 13 and to thus firmly clamp the various edges and sides of the shanks of the blades 15 and the bar 18 for holding the same in substantially parallel relation. This clamping of the blades 15 in the socket spaces the edges of the blades apart uniformly throughout the length of the'slot 21 so that the thread 12 may be drawn through the slot with the desired tension andv the pressure will be uniform at opposite sides of the thread 12' in the various positions which the thread assumes in' its passage through the slot 21.

Therefore, to change the adjustment or size of the slot 21 it is only necessary to re lease the clamping screw 22, witlidra-w the combined spacing and gauge bar 18, adjust the bar to obtain the desired slot width, re-

insert the bar between the shanks of the blades, and to again tighten up the set screw 22. It is unnecessary to remove the blades 15 from the socket or to otherwise disturb the position of the blades, and the only part that it is necessary to remove is the bar 18 and it presents at its opposite sides and ends the necessary spacing of the blades apart to obtain the thread slot of the desired width.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of;

construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being re stricted only by the scope of the following claims:

WVhat is claimed is 1. A thread cleaner, comprising a support, a pair of blades mounted in the support and having opposed thread engaging edges, a combined spacing and gauge bar insertable between the blades for spacing said thread engaging edges apart, said bar being noncircular in cross section and adapted to be inserted between the blades in different angular positions for changing the spacing apart of said thread engaging edges of the blades, and means for clamping the blades and bar in the support.

2. A thread cleaner, comprising a support, a pair of blades mounted in the support and having opposed thread engaging edges, a combined spacing and gauge bar insertable between the blades for spacing said thread engaging edges apart, said bar being noncircular and of different cross sections at opposite ends and adapted to be inserted from opposite ends and in difierent angular positions for changing the spacing apart of said thread engaging edges of the blades, and means for clamping the blades and bar in the support.

3. A thread cleaner, comprising a support having a socket therein opening outwardly from the support and inwardly through the support, a pair of blades arranged in the socket in edgewise relation, means at the inner end of the socket for holding the blades in desired position therein and in alignment, and a combined spacing and gauge bar insertable through the inner end of the socket between the opposed edges of said blades for spacing the same apart, said bar having its opposite ends and opposite sides spaced apart to difi-erent distances and adapted to be adjusted between said blades for spacing the same apart different distances to obtain a thread slot between the blades of the desired width.

4. A thread cleaner, comprising a fiat socket, a pair of fiat blades arranged in edgewise relation in the socket, said blades having shank portions at their ends seated in the socket and being cut away at the inner edges of said shank portions to provide a socket between the shank portions, a spacing bar insertable in said socket between the shank portions and having different cross-sectional areas at various angles about the axis of the bar, said bar adapted to be turned to present the desired cross-sectional area between the shank portions of the blades, and means for clamping the shank portions of the blades and said bar together in the socket.

5. A thread cleaner, comprising a socket, a

at opposite ends, said bar adapted to be 1 turned endwise and about its axis to present the desired cross-sectional width of the same into the socket between the inner ends of the blades, and means for clamping said blades and said bar in said first socket.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

WILLARD T. MUNSON. 

